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Beginning with the 2003 invasion of Iraq and concluding with the aftermath of the 2011 Arab uprisings, Frederic M. Wehrey investigates the roots of the Shi?a-Sunni divide now dominating the Persian Gulf's political landscape. Focusing on three Gulf states affected most by sectarian tensions - Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait - Wehrey identifies the factors that have exacerbated or tempered sectarianism, including domestic political institutions, the media, clerical establishments, and the contagion effect of external regional events, such as the Iraq war, the 2006 Lebanon conflict, the Arab uprisings, and Syria's civil war.
List of contents
AcknowledgmentsIntroductionList of AbbreviationsPart I. The Roots of Sectarianism1. Governance2. The Long Shadow of the Iranian RevolutionPart II. Bahrain3. Debating Participation: The Bahraini Shi?a and Regional Influences4. Sectarian Balancing: The Bahraini Sunnis and a Polarized Parliament5. Into the Abyss: The Pearl Roundabout Uprising and Its AftermathPart III. Saudi Arabia6. Loyalties Under Fire: The Saudi Shi?a in the Shadow of Iraq7. Under Siege: The Salafi and Regime Countermobilization8. Waving ?Uthman's Shirt: Saudi Arabia's Sectarian SpringPart IV. Kuwait9. Renegotiating a Ruling Bargain: The Kuwaiti Shi?a10. Tilting Toward Repression: The Sunni Opposition and the Kuwaiti Regime11. A Balancing Act Goes Awry: Sectarianism and Kuwait's Mass ProtestsConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex
About the author
Frederic M. Wehrey is a senior associate in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is a specialist in the politics of the Persian Gulf, and his articles and commentary have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy. He holds a doctorate in international relations from St. Antony's College, Oxford University.
Summary
Beginning with the 2003 invasion of Iraq and concluding with the aftermath of the 2011 Arab uprisings, Frederic M. Wehrey investigates the roots of the Shi?a-Sunni divide now dominating the Persian Gulf's political landscape. Focusing on three Gulf states affected most by sectarian tensions--Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait--Wehrey identifies the factors that have exacerbated or tempered sectarianism, including domestic political institutions, the media, clerical establishments, and the contagion effect of external regional events, such as the Iraq war, the 2006 Lebanon conflict, the Arab uprisings, and Syria's civil war.
